Good Sports: Cinderella season for UC Merced women’s soccer

MERCED, Calif. (KFSN) — The UC Merced women’s soccer team’s Cinderella run to the top might have come as a surprise to some this season, but the Bobcats’ belief in themselves never wavered, lacing up their cleats instead of glass slippers.

“With the beginning of this season, we talked about being the underdog, and I told them the reality is we’re not going to be the underdog for long, so enjoy it,” says head coach Roman DuChateau.

Preseason polls had the Bobcats picked to finish 10th in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Now a little over two months later, UC Merced punched its ticket to the Final Four.

“We all want it as bad, so being able to show how much we want it more is exciting,” says senior forward Jocelin Roa.

The journey to get to this point started back in 2022, with DuChateau taking over the reins and leading UC Merced to its first NAIA quarterfinal appearance in school history two years ago.

“We had a goal, we had a mission and the ladies just bought in and they battled,” he said.

Chateau continued the winning tradition, leading UC Merced into the Division II level in 2025 and this year, making history of his own as the winningest women’s soccer coach in Bobcats history.

“You know, to come back and do this in the Central Valley, I want to retire here and I want to keep winning games here,” he said. “So 49 wins was great. One-hundred is going to be great. Two-hundred are going to be great. We’re going to keep plugging along now.”

UC Merced now aims for its first trip to the big dance when the brackets come out on Monday, hoping when the clock strikes midnight, the Cinderella story won’t end just yet.

“I’m grateful for every opportunity,” says junior midfielder Andrea Alvarenga Torres. “I’m grateful to be with the team. I’m grateful to be part of the history here at UC Merced. We really deserve to be there. We’re already there. We just have to show out and show what we can do.”

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